Scientists say desertification of the mountain grasslands of the Tibetan plateau is accelerating climate changeLike generations of Tibetan nomads before him, Phuntsok Dorje makes a living raising yaks and other livestock on the vast alpine grasslands that provide a thatch on the roof of the world.But in recent years the vegetation around his home, the Tibetan plateau, has been destroyed by rising temperatures, excess livestock and plagues of insects and rodents.The high-altitude meadows are rarely mentioned in discussions of global warming, but the changes to this ground have a profound impact on Tibetan politics and the world's ecological security.For Phuntsok Dorje, the issue is more down to earth. He is used to dramatically shifting cloudscapes above his head, but it is the changes...

Yesterday, we commemorated the anniversary of the death of Princess Diana in as tasteful a way as we could muster – by showing you an old ad where a lookalike of the People’s Princess whizzes through the night in a car. Unfortunately, not everyone treats the memory of the Queen Of Hearts with such respect and reverence. Check out this DISGUSTING advert from China for a range of lingerie that is tastelessly named after Her Deadjesty. Horrible isn’t it? While also being fiercely arousing, obviously. Our in-house translators (the Daily Mail’s website) tell us that the ad urges us to ‘Feel the Romance of British Royalty’. We’ve been gawping at it for an hour and there’ll be something getting else felt before long if we’re being completely......

The money Any of you thrifty sorts still save loose change in a big whisky bottle or a large sock? You definitely should because, as they say, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. A Chinese businessman, know only and enigmatically as Mr Zhao, has been saving up pocket change over the years and finally traded it all in (all £9,500 of it) for… a van. Mr Zhao pitched up at his local van dealership with bundles of the notes, none of them worth more than about 10p and extra staff were brought in to count it all. Yeah, cos THAT would happen in a UK dealership wouldn’t it avid readers? It took a bunch of them more than a day but in the end, the cash amount was confirmed as being correct and Mr Zhao tootled off in his new van. But, in a development that we’ve...

Kim Jong-il may be preparing to hand over power to his youngest son, Kim Jong-unSpeculation is growing that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, is preparing to hand over power to his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, after reports that the two have travelled to China to win support for the change.The reported visit comes weeks before a rare meeting of the North Korean Workers' party is expected to set in motion Kim Jong-un's accession in the world's only communist dynasty.The South Korean broadcaster YTV and other media said the two were on their way to China, North Korea's only remaining ally, today. It would be Kim Jong-il's second visit this year.Yonhap news agency quoted a senior official in Seoul as saying that "signs have been detected" that Kim had begun the journey on his special armoured...

A draft revision of the criminal code in China reduces the penalty for thirteen offences from death to life imprisonment, according to the Guardian.The affected crimes include tax dodging, credit note fraud, teaching criminal methods and smuggling endangered animals.However, even if the revision is accepted, 55 crimes will still be punishable by death by lethal injection, including drug smuggling.It is also proposed to increase the maximum life sentence from 20 to 25 years.Catherine Baber, Amnesty International's deputy programme director for Asia, told the Guardian: "We welcome any genuine attempt to reduce the death penalty in China, but it is unclear whether this is legislative housekeeping that will have little effect on the overall number of executions."China could certainly make...

For 10 days, drivers on the Beijing to Mongolia expressway have been stuck in a 60-mile tailback. Is this the world's longest queue?The trucks were parked up, bumper-to-bumper and mile upon mile of them. No one is going anywhere fast in what has been dubbed the world longest-lasting traffic jam, in China's Hebei province.The motorway, part of the Beijing to Tibet expressway, resembles a giant car park – and has done so for the past 10 days. Normally one of the busiest – and noisiest – trunk roads in China, now the only sound that can be heard is the chirrup of the crickets in the nearby wheatfields.The Chinese authorities are struggling to clear the congestion, now entering its eleventh day and which, at its peak, stretched for more than 60 miles (100km). But the drivers still...

Fifty-three injured after Henan Airlines plane overshoots runway and bursts into flames in YichunA passenger plane crashed in China today, killing 43 and injuring 53 in one of the nation's worst air disaster in years.The Henan Airlines plane overshot the runway and burst into flames in Yichun, Heilongjiang province.Forty-three bodies have already been found at the site where the plane split apart, a city official, Jin Yi, told the China News Service.The other 53 people on board have been taken to hospital for treatment, but none was thought to be suffering from life threatening injuries. The injuries reportedly included burns, cuts and broken limbs.The plane split apart on grass 1.5km from the runway and there was a small explosion, Sun Bangnan, deputy director of the Heilongjiang public...

Viewers worldwide watch deadly standoff live on TV after former policeman hijacks bus carrying Hong Kong touristsIn pictures: Manila bus siegeAt least seven hostages were killed along with their captor today after a group of Hong Kong tourists and their local guide were held hostage on a bus for 12 hours and then caught in a firefight between Philippine police and a disgruntled former officer in Manila.Viewers around the world, including millions in China, watched the unfolding bloodbath live on television as Rolando Mendoza, a disgraced senior inspector recently dismissed from the force, reportedly began shooting his hostages before a Swat team armed with pistols and machine guns moved in to save the remaining passengers.The deadly denouement followed a half-day standoff in which...

MIC Gadget has spotted that there is a store in Hong Kong peddling what seems to be a white 16GB iPhone. Thing is – no one knows if it’s the real deal or not. Officially the white iPhone 4 should not be out in the wild yet – But let’s face it, more than one iPhone that has managed to escape the maximum security stockade.  There’s rumours abound that they are all living as soldiers of fortune and can be hired, if you can find them….. hang on. No. That’s the A-Team isn’t it? Have a look – you reckon this is legit? Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Post this to MySpace Share this on Reddit Digg this! Share this on del.icio.us Post on Google Buzz...

As if Krugman couldn't be any more of a self-serving arsehole in providing Nobel Laureate cover for people who think that extra state spending somehow stimulates and economy, people who call themselves 'Keynsians' but who would never advocate running a surplus during the good times as Keynes thought necessary for a stimulus to work during recession; now he's giving ammunition to the people who are advocating the policy that caused the Great Depression: Protectionist trade war.China is following a policy that is, in effect, one of imposing high tariffs and providing large export subsidies — because that’s what an undervalued currency does. Of course what this also does is deny Chinese labourers the benefits of their labour. They are kept poor, so that Americans can have cheap...

Just looking at this trailer, I so want to see Zhang Yimou’s latest film based on the Coen Bros Blood Simple. Check out the trailer:...

Aircraft that crashed in northern China may have been trying to defect to RussiaResidents say a small aircraft that crashed in northern China was a helicopter carrying a North Korean pilot, who died, a villager said today.The official Xinhua news agency said in a brief report that an aircraft went down yesterday afternoon in Lagu village, in Fushun county. The county, in Liaoning province, lies about 90 miles from the North Korean border.A man who lives in Ersonggou village, about three miles from the crash site, said about 100 police have cordoned off the area.The man, who would give only his surname, Ning, said he heard from other locals that the craft was a helicopter that had flown from North Korea, and that the pilot was killed on impact.Ning said no buildings were hit and no one on...

US says secrecy raises potential for 'miscalculation' but experts say China cannot reach desired level of transparencyChina's military cannot meet Washington's expectations of transparency, scholars in Beijing warned today, after a report from the US defence department said the secrecy of the People's Liberation Army was increasing the potential for "misunderstanding and miscalculation".The annual Pentagon report was published amid frictions between the countries over US arms sales to Taiwan, US naval drills with South Korea and China's growing confidence in the South China Seas. It argues that despite modest improvements in the PLA's openness, "the limited transparency in China's military and security affairs enhances uncertainty and increases the potential for misunderstanding and...

• Japanese economy grew by just 0.1% in second quarter• Figures seen as 'symbolic' shift in world powerChina overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy during the second quarter of this year, marking another milestone in the country's transformation from impoverished communist state to economic superpower.With its red-hot economy growing at around 9% a year, some experts now expect China to outstrip the United States as soon as 2030, its financial strength carrying broad political implications.Official data published today showed a faltering Japanese economy growing by just 0.1% in the three months to June, with GDP of $1.28tn (£826bn) eclipsed by China, which had economic output of $1.33tn.Although it is not the first time China has outpaced Japan in a single quarter, most...

Out of the terrible earthquake that struck China on 12 May 2008 has come a wealth of inspiring examples of human determination in the face of disaster. The story of the Chinese city of Guangyuan is one of them. In the thick of the earthquake zone, Guangyuan was among the most devastated cities, reduced to rubble in parts. Two years on, the demanding process of reconstruction continues. But Guangyuan’s goal is not simply to restore itself – it wants to become a model for low-carbon city development. Last week I had the privilege of joining representatives from the city to attend the launch in Beijing of a pioneering study mapping out the ways in which Guangyuan can achieve its low-carbon goal. The study was funded by the UK’s Department for International Development's emergency...

• Japan's economy grew just 0.4% a year in second quarter • Figures spark concern over cooling demand in Asia• Japan facing ageing population and a strong yenJapan lost its place as the world's second-largest economy to China in the second quarter as receding global growth sapped momentum and stunted a shaky recovery.Gross domestic product grew at an annualised rate of just 0.4%, the Japanese government said today, far below the annualised 4.4% expansion in the first quarter. The news added to evidence that the global recovery is facing strong headwinds.The figures underscore China's emergence as an economic power that is changing everything from the global balance of military and financial power to how cars are designed. It is already the biggest exporter, auto buyer and steel...

Original Home Page – And another very early post from this blog Current Latest Page All Contents of Site – Index Sign the Ban Blair-Baiting petition here Comment at end 12th August 2010 I have been called some names for even writing this blog with the name and picture of the “well-known war criminal” in the masthead.  Not least among those names is “useful idiot”. “Just you wait”, the incredulous know-alls say. “He’ll get his comeuppance. You’ll see!” It seems that some men’s useful idiots are other men’s freedom fighters. Late last night, being an avid late-night BBC World Service listener I caught some of this programme “Useful idiots” (first broadcast 4th August.) Today CIF Watch has this on the...

As economic woes affect beer sales in Europe, a 5.5% rise in beer production followed Asia's quick rebound from the financial crisisThe guzzlers of Munich's beer halls are the stuff of bacchanalian legend: now they have to contend with rivals hailing from the bars and street stalls of Hanoi and New Delhi.Asia has overtaken Europe as the world's biggest beer producer for the first time in 35 years, according to a study by the research arm of the Japanese brewing giant Kirin Holdings.Asia's comparatively quick rebound from the global economic crisis was matched last year by a 5.5% surge in beer production – to 58.6m kilolitres – from 2008, the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle said.It was the first time that Asia had topped the global beer-production rankings since Kirin began...

Police from Baotou city say incident began when what appeared to be group of monks attacked toll booth before escaping by bus Police in northern China faced an unexpected and unholy menace last week when more than 100 fake monks besieged their police station, a Chinese newspaper reported today.Police from Baotou city, in inner Mongolia, told the North News that the incident began last Wednesday when what appeared to be a group of monks attacked a toll booth and escaped by bus.Officers stopped the vehicle at a roadblock after a lengthy car chase and arrested 31 of the men – but the suspects fought back with steel bars and knives, allowing the rest to make their getaway on a double-decker bus.The following day, more than 100 men, apparently monks, besieged the city's Guyang police station...

Forecasters warn water levels could rise further and cause more destruction as rescue teams continue search for survivorsSurvivors of the landslides in north-western China are braced for further misery as forecasters predict more heavy rains.At least 1,117 people died when mud and debris swept through Zhouqu, in Gansu province, late on Saturday night and more than 600 are missing. There is little hope of finding more survivors among what are thought to be the hundreds who were buried alive in metres of sludge.The 10,000 rescue and relief workers are continuing to search for bodies but attention is turning to the threat of disease.Crews in protective suits have sprayed chemical disinfectant across the ground and over machinery. State media has reported numerous cases of dysentery and...

Creator of Beijing's Bird Nest stadium says he was attacked while trying to report a previous assault by security forcesAi Weiwei, the Chinese artist commissioned to create an installation for the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, says that plain-clothes police assaulted him and his assistant today as he attempted to file a complaint about a previous attack.The artist who designed the Beijing national stadium, known as the Bird Nest, said that he was kicked and shoved outside a police station in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in south-west China."Some undercover police tore our shirts and tried to grab our cameras. There were maybe 10 of them. They pushed and kicked us," he said in a telephone interview. "Now we are being attacked because we complained about last time. It is so...

It's fashionable to decry the inhumane business model of the Asian 'tiger' economies - little hands make cheap workers - but Britain's industrial revolution was, it seems, built on child labour. Do China et al simply suffer from living in a more self-righteous, media-saturated world? And who will be next to exploit the children? Will the Chinese be brought out into a cold sweat by enterprising Martians, 100 years down the line, when they're all fat and living off the legacy of their 'service industries'? Could I ask another question without giving an answer? It seems...

At least 96 people killed and 2,000 missing in north-west region in worst single incident of most catastrophic floods for a decadeAt least 96 people are dead and another 2,000 missing after landslides swept through a remote area of north-western China overnight, state media have reported.Mud and water engulfed the county town of Zhouqu, in the south of Gansu province, after hours of torrential rain. Sludge up to a metre thick was blocking roads today. At one point half of the town was under water and flood waters reached the third storey of buildings, China News Service reported.China's worst flooding for a decade has already killed more than 1,400 people, left hundreds missing and caused tens of billions of pounds in damage across a large swath of the country. Around 12 million people...

Its been out there for a good while now, but I still love it every time I see it....

What is the Premier League if not capitalism without democracy? China and Liverpool FC are made for each otherIs there some kind of tear in the very fabric of the news universe? It has been a week in which areas one would hope to be discrete have collapsed troublingly into one other. Not only has Naomi Campbell been to the Hague, but the People's Republic of China is frontrunner to buy Liverpool football club. Well, I say the People's Republic itself, though obviously that would put pressure on space in the directors' box at Anfield. Rather, the bid is being fronted by the entrepreneur Kenny Huang, but is widely believed to be financially backed by the China Investment Corporation, the investment arm of the Chinese government.Though it's not even the first time representatives of a...

• Chinese appetite for steel boosts Rio Tinto and Ferrexpo• Gulf between China and west's fragile recovery is highlighted• Rio Tinto's partnership with Chinalco likely to ease its path on Simandou projectChina's economic resurgence has helped the mining industry achieve record profits and highlighted the gulf with the fragile recovery now taking place in Europe and the US.Rio Tinto today reported a 125% increase in profits for the first six months of the year, mainly because of surging demand for iron ore from China. Profits at Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo also soared by 257%.Iron ore is the main ingredient for steel, used in construction and building new infrastructure such as bridges. China's economy – and its drive to industrialise – slowed last year in the wake of...

There will be red faces in Number 10 tonight after the latest foreign policy gaffe from David Cameron. Speaking today at his one of his PM Direct events, the Conservative leader stuck up for Turkey’s application to join the EU, stating it would be able to help Europe address a number of issues: I think [Turkey will] be a good political influence because they can help us solve some of the world’s problems like the Middle East peace process, like the fact Iran has got a nuclear weapon.” Except Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. His advisors later clarified that Mr Cameron “mis-spoke”, and had meant to say that Iran appeared to be trying to develop a nuclear programme. This isn’t the first time Mr Cameron has shown a slightly flaky grasp of foreign policy....

Residents near scene in eastern city of Zibo say man carrying knife launched attack as parents collected their childrenThree children and a teacher have been killed in an attack on a kindergarten in eastern China, it was reported today.Residents living near the scene described how an unidentified man, carrying a knife, entered the school in the eastern city of Zibo, in Shandong, province at about 4pm yesterday as parents picked their children up at the end of the day.Around 20 children and staff were injured, two of the children seriously, reports said.A woman who works in a restaurant opposite the Boshan District Experimental Kindergarten's Jinfengyuan branch said the attacker was a man aged 27 or 28 and gained entry to the school by posing as a parent.Police rushed to the scene and...

When we talk about China, usually there is a degree of preassumption about the Chinese copying one thing or another from other countries, but not this time. The Shenzhen Huashi Future Car-Parking Equipment have come up with a concept bus and I quote a “3D Express Coach” which will help relieve some of the traffic congestion that are often experienced in busiest parts of their cities. The concept is like no other. It will enable cars to literally drive under it. It is 4-4.5 m high with two levels: passengers board on the upper level while other vehicles lower than 2 m can go through under. Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can speed up to 60 km/h carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time without blocking other vehicles’ way. Also it costs about...

Increasingly affluent and energy-hungry nation reflects the dramatic increase in the wattage of China's economyDeclarations of love do not get much more highly charged than the one Zhao Xiuxia received from her husband recently on an LED screen bigger than a football pitch."Dear wife, I adore you. You work so hard for our family. Let's struggle together for a better life," scrolled the giant letters on an electronic ceiling above one of Beijing's glitziest new shopping centres.As well as being a message of devotion, the mobile phone text message – magnified by 5m pixels – highlights the dramatic increase in the wattage of China's economy.The giant 250 metre-long screen at The Place retail centre is one of the most conspicuous symbols of an increasingly affluent and energy-hungry...

Guest blog from James Rawlins in the British Consulate-General Shanghai: The growing concentrations of carbon in our atmosphere are largely the product of economic growth, so any successful attempt to reduce emissions and limit climate change must have economics at its heart, and reflect the economic realities of today’s world. To explore some of the economic angles of climate change and sustainable development, the British Consulate-General Shanghai’s climate change team recently organised a roundtable discussion between an economist who worked on the famous Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change, and two Chinese economists who advise Shanghai government on low carbon and energy issues. You can read an account of their discussion here [PDF]. To summarise a few of the main...

On the foreignpolicy.com website, there's an interesting article about the return of politically charged Chinese SF. As an SF fan who had never even heard of any Chinese SF before reading this, I've been intrigued. The article centres on a new novel that was published last year in Hong Kong but is now circulating widely :Chen Guanzhong's China 2013 presents a fairly Orwellian view of...

Forget the jetpacks for just a moment, this is how your getting to work in 2030. It’s a 3d fast bus, or a ’straddling’ bus, and it’s quite possibly the greatest bus every to adorn the planet. Actually, we can’t think of any buses that may compete for the title, and would therefore welcome your suggestions. It certainly beats Boris’s London Routemasters into a cocked a hat, and it’s the future of transport in Beijing’s Mentougou District: The pilot scheme will see a 40km long path built for the bus, which will carry up to 1,400 commuters at a time, while still allowing traffic to pass by. Or under. Or through. Whatever. It will cost just 10% of building the equivalent length of subway, and could reduce traffic jams by nearly a third. To be...

Alarm sounds over rise of extreme groups such as Tsagaan Khass who respect Hitler and reject foreign influenceTheir right hands rise to black-clad chests and flash out in salute to their nation: "Sieg heil!" They praise Hitler's devotion to ethnic purity.But with their high cheekbones, dark eyes and brown skin, they are hardly the Third Reich's Aryan ideal. A new strain of Nazism has found an unlikely home: Mongolia.Once again, ultra-nationalists have emerged from an impoverished economy and turned upon outsiders. This time the main targets come from China, the rising power to the south.Groups such as Tsagaan Khass, or White Swastika, portray themselves as patriots standing up for ordinary citizens in the face of foreign crime, rampant inequality, political indifference and corruption.But...

Journalist Andy Walker has kindly written this quick synopsis of his recent trip to the Far East with the Blues. Before that, Joys and Sorrows would like to congratulate Andy on his new role as with BCFC working in the PR department focusing on social media. Anyway, here is Andy’s article: To say that the[continue...

Blast at disused chemical plant in Nanjing kills at least sixAn explosion at a chemical factory in east China has killed at least six people and left hundreds injured, state media reported today.The blast damaged buildings and vehicles within a hundred-metre radius of the plant in Nanjing, injuring passengers on a passing bus. Nearby residents fled, many fearing an earthquake, as shockwaves hit their homes and windows shattered.At least six people were recorded dead at nearby hospitals, according to the state news agency Xinhua It said reporters had seen burnt bodies carried from the disaster scene.Local media reported that more than 300 people had been taken to hospital and at least 50 were seriously injured. One victim was reportedly crushed as he slept, when the ceiling of his home...

I wouldn’t say that I agree with all Minxin Pei‘s presentation content, but it is very interesting to watch because of the economic facts that he marshals and I like the way he puts China’s growth in the context of growth of the US in the late 19th century. Key numbers | facts Chinese economy now worth 5 trillion USD China is now third largest trading partner and world’s largest exporter China has worlds largest foreign currency reserves 2.5 trillion dollars Lenovo is the world’s fourth largest computer manufacturer Huawei is the worlds third largest network infrastructure company Chinese high-speed trains can do 200mph, faster than the Shinkansen trains of Japan Obesity is starting to become a problem in China Every day about 1 million Chinese move from...

Oil from Dalian pipeline explosion threatens marine animals, sea birds and water quality as slick spreads to 430km sqChinese officials have warned of a severe threat to wildlife from one of the country's worst reported oil spills as an army of volunteers was dispatched to beaches to try to head off the black tides.At least one man has drowned in crude during the clean-up operation, which has expanded as the area of the slick has doubled in size despite earlier government assurances that it was being contained and posed no risk to ecologically sensitive areas.Five days after a pipeline explosion at the north-east port of Dalian, oil had reportedly spread over an area of 430 square kilometres, prompting a dispersal mission along the coast.Hundreds of local volunteers are spreading absorbent...

In the week that the club flew to the Far East on tour, Nicole has written this article for us. When Carson Yeung and company came into the club last year under the guise of Grandtop international holdings, it seemed almost inevitable that the club would visit China and attempt to tap into the owners...

As the global giant loses out in China, western firms fear the odds may be stacked against themWhen the latest list of firms approved by Beijing to provide online mapping services in China was published last week, it was no great surprise that Google's name was missing. Google has an estimated two million users of its mobile mapping services in China, but now the state bureau of surveying and mapping services is reviewing the sector. Only those companies of "excellent quality", says the bureau, will be approved. Google, apparently, has so far failed to demonstrate that "excellence" to Beijing's satisfaction.Google is still in a messy stand-off with the government over its decision last year to stop censoring its search results in China. What was less predictable and more disturbing for...